Jude Bellingham returns to Valdebebas next week for the first pre-season of the Jose Mourinho era, and his own verdict on the manager is already on record.

“Mourinho is a top, top coach. I’m very happy,” Bellingham told DAZN after England’s goalless draw with Ghana at the 2026 World Cup, days after Real Madrid handed the Portuguese a three-year deal that runs until 30 June 2029.

The comments were the England midfielder’s first substantial response to an appointment Real Madrid confirmed on the opening day of the World Cup, ending Alvaro Arbeloa’s caretaker spell after Xabi Alonso’s mid-season exit. It is Mourinho’s second stint at the club, 13 years after his first.

Semi-finalist due back on 5 August

Bellingham was not present when Mourinho oversaw his first training session on 13 July. He will not be there this week either.

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Real Madrid have told players eliminated in the semifinals to report back on 5 August; those whose national teams reached the final on 19 July are due five days later, per the club’s staggered plan.

England lost 2-1 to Argentina in the last four before beating France 6-4 in the third-place playoff in Miami Gardens, a game in which Bellingham scored his seventh goal of the tournament to seal bronze. It is England’s best World Cup finish since their 1966 title.

Four new arrivals to work with

Mourinho has spent the summer without his most expensive attacking piece and reshaped the squad around him. Bernardo Silva, Ibrahima Konate, Denzel Dumfries and Marc Cucurella have all been added since the appointment, and Bellingham used the same night in front of the DAZN cameras to signal his approval.

“We made some great signings as well, a lot of signings, with a lot of quality and experience. I’ll be very happy to work with them,” he told the broadcaster, as reported by Goal.

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Cucurella, a World Cup winner with Spain, is not expected at Valdebebas before 10 August.

Konate, whose France side lost in the semi-finals to Spain and again to England in the third-place playoff, falls in the earlier 5 August window alongside Bellingham. Kylian Mbappe, the other Real Madrid Frenchman, is due back on the same date.

The number 10 in the 4-2-3-1

Mourinho is expected to hand Bellingham a more advanced brief than he has carried under recent Real Madrid coaches.

Tribuna reports the plan is a 4-2-3-1 with the 23-year-old operating as a No. 10 behind the striker, closer to the role he plays for England than the deeper station he has occupied at club level.

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Bellingham himself has flagged the difference, telling reporters during the World Cup that at Real Madrid he plays “a little deeper” than for Thomas Tuchel’s side.

Real Madrid open their pre-season programme against Fiorentina in Austria on 1 August. Their No. 5 is due to touch down at Valdebebas four days later.

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